BharatNotes Why this chapter matters for UPSC: GS1 asks for the distribution of key natural resources; GS3 treats energy as infrastructure, security and climate. This chapter is the base for both: how minerals occur, where India mines them, why coal and oil lie where they do, and how India makes its electricity.
Contemporary hook: India mined 1,047.523 million tonnes of coal in 2024-25 (Ministry of Coal), and coal-fired plants still produce "about 72%" of its electricity (Ministry of Coal year-end review, 12 January 2026). Yet non-fossil sources were 54.88% of installed capacity on 31 August 2026 (Central Electricity Authority), and on 6 April 2026 the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam reached first criticality (Department of Atomic Energy).
🧠 First Principles — Read This First
A mineral is a substance; an ore is an economic judgement. NCERT quotes the geologists' definition of a mineral, a "homogenous, naturally occurring substance with a definable internal structure". An ore is an accumulation of a mineral mixed with other elements, and its mineral content "must be in sufficient concentration to make its extraction commercially viable". Whether a deposit becomes a mine depends on three things NCERT names: the concentration of the mineral in the ore, the ease of extraction and closeness to the market.
Geology decides where minerals are. NCERT traces the uneven spread to "differences in the geological structure, processes and time involved in the formation of minerals". The map of minerals is, at bottom, a map of rock types and their ages.
Minerals are finite. Workable deposits are "one per cent of the earth's crust", and they are replenished far more slowly than they are used.
Installed capacity is not the same as generation. Non-fossil sources are more than half of India's installed capacity, yet coal still supplies most of the electricity generated (see the explainer under Electricity).
PART 1 — Quick Reference
Table 1: How minerals occur (NCERT)
| Mode of occurrence | How it forms | NCERT's examples |
|---|---|---|
| (i) Veins and lodes in igneous and metamorphic rocks | Molten and gaseous minerals are forced up through cracks, crevices, faults or joints, then cool and solidify. Smaller occurrences are veins, larger ones lodes. | Tin, copper, zinc, lead |
| (ii) Beds or layers in sedimentary rocks | Deposition, accumulation and concentration in horizontal strata; long periods under great heat and pressure. Some form by evaporation, especially in arid regions. | Coal, some forms of iron ore; gypsum, potash salt, sodium salt (by evaporation) |
| (iii) Residual weathering | Surface rocks decompose and the soluble parts are removed, leaving a residual mass of weathered material containing ores. | Bauxite |
| (iv) Placer deposits | Alluvial deposits in the sands of valley floors and at the base of hills; minerals that water does not corrode. | Gold, silver, tin, platinum |
| (v) Ocean waters and ocean beds | Most minerals in sea water are too widely diffused to be worth extracting. | Common salt, magnesium, bromine (from sea water); manganese nodules (on the ocean bed) |
Source: NCERT, Contemporary India II, Class X, ch. 5 "Minerals and Energy Resources", Reprint 2026-27, pp. 2-3. Tin appears twice: in veins and lodes, and in placer deposits.
Table 2: The iron-ore belts (NCERT)
| Belt | Where | What NCERT says | Outlet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Odisha-Jharkhand | Odisha; Singbhum district of Jharkhand | High-grade hematite at the Badampahar mines in Mayurbhanj and Kendujhar districts (Odisha); hematite mined at Gua and Noamundi (Singbhum) | Not named |
| Durg-Bastar-Chandrapur | Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra | Bailadila range, Bastar district: 14 deposits of super high grade hematite with "the best physical properties needed for steel making" | Exported to Japan and South Korea via Vishakhapatnam port |
| Ballari-Chitradurga-Chikkamagaluru-Tumakuru | Karnataka | Large reserves; the Kudremukh mines in the Western Ghats are "a 100 per cent export unit" and "one of the largest in the world" | Ore moved as slurry through a pipeline to a port near Mangaluru |
| Maharashtra-Goa | Goa and Ratnagiri district (Maharashtra) | Ores "not of very high quality, yet they are efficiently exploited" | Marmagao port |
Source: NCERT, Contemporary India II, ch. 5, Reprint 2026-27, pp. 3-4. NCERT's note on the names: "Kudre" means horse in Kannada (the peak resembles a horse's face), and the Bailadila hills look like the hump of an ox.
Table 3: Which States produce the minerals: NCERT's 2018-19 figures and the 2023-24 data
| Mineral | NCERT (2018-19) | Indian Minerals Yearbook 2024 (2023-24) |
|---|---|---|
| Iron ore | Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Jharkhand together 97%; other States 3% | Output 277.332 million tonnes (up 7.36%). Odisha 53.71%, Chhattisgarh 16.60%, Karnataka 14.78%, rest 14.91% |
| Manganese ore | Madhya Pradesh 33%, Maharashtra 27%, Odisha 16%, Karnataka 12%, Andhra Pradesh 10%, others 2% | Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra 30.55% each, Odisha 19.25%, Karnataka 10.50%, Andhra Pradesh 8.81% |
| Bauxite | Odisha 65%, Jharkhand 10%, Gujarat 9%, Chhattisgarh 6%, Maharashtra 6%, Madhya Pradesh 3%, others 1% | Output 23,968 thousand tonnes. Odisha 73.4%, Jharkhand 8.5%, Gujarat 6.9%, Maharashtra 4.4%, Chhattisgarh 4.3%, Madhya Pradesh 2.5% |
| Limestone | Rajasthan 22%, Andhra Pradesh 13%, Madhya Pradesh 13%, Chhattisgarh 11%, Karnataka 10%, Telangana 7%, Gujarat 6%, Tamil Nadu 5%, Maharashtra 4%, others 9% | Output 452 million tonnes. Rajasthan 22.9%, Madhya Pradesh 13.8%, Andhra Pradesh 13.5%, Chhattisgarh 10.9%, Karnataka 9%, Tamil Nadu 5.9%, Telangana 5.8%, Gujarat 5.2%, rest 13% |
Source: NCERT, Contemporary India II, ch. 5, Reprint 2026-27: iron ore p. 3 (text), manganese Fig. 5.3 (p. 4), bauxite Fig. 5.5 (p. 6), limestone Fig. 5.7 (p. 7). Indian Bureau of Mines, Indian Minerals Yearbook 2024, chapters on iron ore, manganese ore, bauxite and limestone (data for 2023-24). Bauxite shares are computed by us from the Yearbook's State table (2023-24, provisional). Odisha still leads in bauxite (with a larger share) and Rajasthan in limestone; in manganese, Maharashtra has drawn level with Madhya Pradesh; NCERT's iron-ore line names four States but no leader.
Table 4: Types of coal (NCERT)
| Type | What NCERT says |
|---|---|
| Peat | Produced by decaying plants in swamps; low carbon, high moisture and low heating capacity |
| Lignite | Low-grade brown coal, soft, with high moisture; the principal reserves are at Neyveli in Tamil Nadu, used to generate electricity |
| Bituminous | Coal buried deep and subjected to increased temperatures; "the most popular coal in commercial use" |
| Metallurgical coal | High-grade bituminous coal with a special value for smelting iron in blast furnaces |
| Anthracite | "The highest quality hard coal" |
Source: NCERT, Contemporary India II, ch. 5, Reprint 2026-27, p. 9. The order runs from least to most compressed: the degree of compression and the depth and time of burial decide the type.
Table 5: Coal by geological age (NCERT)
| Age | How old | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Gondwana | "A little over 200 million years" | Damodar valley (West Bengal-Jharkhand): Jharia, Raniganj and Bokaro coalfields; also the Godavari, Mahanadi, Son and Wardha valleys. NCERT calls Gondwana coal metallurgical coal. |
| Tertiary | "Only about 55 million years old" | North-eastern States: Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland |
Source: NCERT, Contemporary India II, ch. 5, Reprint 2026-27, pp. 9 and 11.
Table 6: Classifying energy (NCERT) and how official statistics differ
| NCERT class | Sources | In today's official statistics |
|---|---|---|
| Conventional | Firewood, cattle dung cake, coal, petroleum, natural gas, electricity (hydel and thermal) | Coal, lignite, gas and diesel are "fossil" capacity; hydro is "non-fossil" |
| Non-conventional | Solar, wind, tidal, geothermal, biogas, atomic energy | Solar, wind, bio-power and small hydro are renewable; nuclear is non-fossil but is not counted in the renewable total |
Source: NCERT, Contemporary India II, ch. 5, Reprint 2026-27, p. 9; Central Electricity Authority, Installed capacity report, 31 August 2026; Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, PIB, 8 April 2026. The ministry's renewable total includes large hydro.
Table 7: India's installed power capacity, 31 August 2026
| Source | Capacity (MW) | Share of total |
|---|---|---|
| Coal | 2,24,408 | 40.47% |
| Lignite | 6,370 | 1.15% |
| Gas | 19,144 | 3.45% |
| Diesel | 288 | 0.05% |
| Fossil total | 2,50,210 | 45.12% |
| Hydro (including pumped storage plants) | 52,065 | 9.39% |
| Wind | 58,520 | 10.55% |
| Solar | 1,68,040 | 30.30% |
| Biomass power | 10,869 | 1.96% |
| Waste-to-energy | 878 | 0.16% |
| Small hydro | 5,182 | 0.93% |
| Nuclear | 8,780 | 1.58% |
| Non-fossil total | 3,04,334 | 54.88% |
| All sources | 5,54,544 | 100% |
Source: Central Electricity Authority, All India Installed Capacity of Power Stations, 31 August 2026. Shares for diesel, biomass, waste-to-energy and small hydro are computed by us. For the year-end view: total capacity was 532.74 GW on 31 March 2026, up from 306.33 GW in 2015-16, with renewables at 51.56% and all non-fossil sources at 53.21% (MNRE, Renewable Energy Statistics 2025-26).
Table 8: Nuclear power: NCERT asks for six stations; NPCIL lists seven operating sites
| Site | State |
|---|---|
| Tarapur | Maharashtra |
| Rawatbhata | Rajasthan |
| Kalpakkam | Tamil Nadu |
| Narora | Uttar Pradesh |
| Kakrapar | Gujarat |
| Kaiga | Karnataka |
| Kudankulam | Tamil Nadu |
Source: NCERT, Contemporary India II, ch. 5, Reprint 2026-27, p. 13 ("Locate the 6 nuclear power stations and find out the state in which they are located"); Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd, Reactors in operation: 24 units with 8,780 MWe at these seven sites.
PART 2 — Concepts & Narrative
What a mineral is, and why NCERT starts with toothpaste
NCERT opens with Haban, a village boy who sees buses and trains in Guwahati and asks why his house cannot move; his father explains that they are made of metals such as iron and aluminium and need energy: the chapter's two halves in one exchange.
A box takes apart a tube of toothpaste: abrasive minerals (silica, limestone, aluminium oxide, phosphates), fluoride from fluorite, white titanium oxide from rutile, ilmenite and anatase, mica for sparkle, and a tube and brush of plastics from petroleum. Another box: minerals are "only about 0.3 per cent of our total intake of nutrients", yet without them we could not use "the other 99.7 per cent".
Over 2000 minerals have been identified, but only a few are abundant in most rocks. Some rocks, such as limestone, are made of a single mineral; most contain several. Geographers study their distribution; geologists their formation, age and composition.
How minerals occur
The mode of occurrence decides how easily, and at what cost, an ore can be mined (Table 1). Bauxite is a residual deposit; the ocean beds are rich in manganese nodules.
Rat-hole mining. NCERT notes that most minerals in India are nationalised and can be extracted only with government permission, but in most tribal areas of north-east India minerals are owned by individuals or communities. At Jowai and Cherapunjee, coal is dug by family members through a long, narrow tunnel: "rat-hole" mining. NCERT records that the National Green Tribunal "declared such activities illegal and recommended that these should be stopped forthwith".
Where India's minerals are
India's mineral resources are rich and varied but unevenly distributed. Peninsular rocks contain most of the coal, metallic minerals, mica and many non-metallic minerals; sedimentary rocks in Gujarat and Assam hold most of the petroleum; Rajasthan, with the rock systems of the peninsula, has many non-ferrous minerals; the northern alluvial plains have almost none. NCERT's "Dig a little deeper" asks why Chota Nagpur is a storehouse of minerals: the answer is its old peninsular rocks, which carry iron ore, coal, mica, copper and bauxite within a small area.
Ferrous minerals: iron ore and manganese
Ferrous minerals account for "about three-fourths of the total value of the production of metallic minerals", and India exports substantial quantities after meeting its own demand. Iron ore is "the basic mineral and the backbone of industrial development". Magnetite is the finest ore, with iron content "up to 70 per cent" and "excellent magnetic qualities", valuable in the electrical industry. Hematite is "the most important industrial iron ore in terms of the quantity used", with slightly lower iron content (50-60 per cent). The four belts are in Table 2.
"Ferrous" does not mean "magnetic". The word refers to iron. Ferrous minerals are those used mainly in making iron and steel, and NCERT discusses manganese under the same heading (its crossword clue "A ferrous mineral" has the answer manganese). Magnetism is a property NCERT gives to one ore, magnetite. So "all ferrous minerals are magnetic" is a false statement, and so is "hematite is the richest iron ore": magnetite has the higher iron content, hematite the larger use.
Manganese is used mainly to make steel and ferro-manganese alloy: "Nearly 10 kg of manganese is required to manufacture one tonne of steel." It also goes into bleaching powder, insecticides and paints. NCERT's "Dig a little deeper" asks you to superimpose the maps of iron ore, manganese, coal and the iron and steel industry: the overlap in the Chota Nagpur region explains why steel plants cluster there (chapter 6).
Iron ore in 2023-24. India produced 277.332 million tonnes of iron ore in 2023-24, 7.36% more than the year before. Odisha alone produced 53.71%, followed by Chhattisgarh (16.60%) and Karnataka (14.78%); these three account for 85.09%, and all other States for 14.91% (Indian Bureau of Mines, Indian Minerals Yearbook 2024). NCERT's 97% for 2018-19 counts four States, including Jharkhand, so the figures are not directly comparable.
Non-ferrous minerals: copper and bauxite
India's reserves and production of non-ferrous minerals (copper, bauxite, lead, zinc, gold) are "not very satisfactory", though they matter to metallurgical, engineering and electrical industries.
Copper. India is "critically deficient" in the reserve and production of copper. Malleable, ductile and a good conductor, it goes mainly into electrical cables, electronics and chemicals. The leading producers are the Balaghat mines (Madhya Pradesh), the Khetri mines (Rajasthan) and Singhbhum district (Jharkhand); NCERT's photograph shows the copper mines at Malanjkhand.
Bauxite. Aluminium is obtained, through alumina, from bauxite, a clay-like substance formed by the decomposition of rocks rich in aluminium silicates. Aluminium matters because it combines the strength of metals such as iron with extreme lightness, good conductivity and great malleability. India's bauxite lies mainly in the Amarkantak plateau, the Maikal hills and the plateau region of Bilaspur-Katni. Odisha was the largest producer in 2018-19, and the Panchpatmali deposits in Koraput district are the most important in the State. NCERT's side box: Napoleon III served his most honoured guests on aluminium, then a rarity; thirty years later aluminium bowls were common among the beggars of Paris.
Bauxite in 2023-24. Output was 23,968 thousand tonnes, about 1% more than in 2022-23. National Aluminium Company (NALCO) alone accounted for 31%. On the Yearbook's provisional State table, Odisha produced about 73.4% of India's bauxite, up from NCERT's 65% for 2018-19 (Indian Minerals Yearbook 2024; shares computed by us).
Non-metallic and rock minerals: mica and limestone
Mica is made up of plates or leaves and splits into sheets so thin that a thousand can be layered into a sheet a few centimetres high. Its dielectric strength, low power loss, insulating properties and resistance to high voltage make it "one of the most indispensable minerals used in electric and electronic industries". Mica deposits lie on the northern edge of the Chota Nagpur plateau; the Koderma-Gaya-Hazaribagh belt of Jharkhand is the leading producer. Ajmer is the main mica area of Rajasthan, and the Nellore mica belt of Andhra Pradesh is also important.
Limestone occurs with rocks made of calcium carbonate, or calcium and magnesium carbonates, in sedimentary rocks of most geological formations. It is the basic raw material of the cement industry and is essential for smelting iron ore in the blast furnace. Rajasthan led in both NCERT's 2018-19 chart and the 2023-24 data (Table 3).
Hazards of mining and the conservation of minerals
NCERT lists the costs. Miners inhale dust and noxious fumes that make them vulnerable to pulmonary diseases; collapsing roofs, inundation and fires in coal mines are a constant threat. Mining contaminates water sources, and dumped waste and slurry degrade land and soil and pollute streams and rivers. Stricter safety rules and enforcement of environmental laws are needed to stop mining from becoming a "killer industry".
On conservation, NCERT argues that minerals form over millions of years but are consumed fast, and continued extraction raises costs as ores come from greater depths and fall in quality; so they must be used in a planned, sustainable way, with better technology for low-grade ores, recycling, scrap metal and substitutes.
Manganese nodules: India's seabed contract. NCERT says the ocean beds are rich in manganese nodules. India explores them in the Central Indian Ocean Basin under a contract with the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the body that governs mining in "the Area", the international seabed beyond any country's national jurisdiction. The ISA's register lists the Government of India's contract for polymetallic nodules in the Indian Ocean as signed on 25 March 2002, due to expire on 24 March 2017, and extended twice, to 24 March 2022 and to 24 March 2027. So the nodules are not in India's exclusive economic zone: India's rights there come from the ISA contract.
Critical minerals. Copper, which NCERT calls "critically deficient", is on the list of 30 critical minerals that the Ministry of Mines released in 2023, along with lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite and others. In January 2025 the Union Cabinet approved the National Critical Mineral Mission, "launched for a period of seven years from 2024-25 to 2030-31", with a proposed expenditure of ₹16,300 crore and an expected ₹18,000 crore more from public sector undertakings and other stakeholders (PIB, 29 January 2025; PIB backgrounder, September 2025).
Energy resources: conventional and non-conventional
Energy comes from fuel minerals (coal, petroleum, natural gas, uranium) and from electricity; NCERT's two classes are in Table 6. Firewood and cattle dung cake are the main fuels of rural India: "According to one estimate more than 70 per cent energy requirement in rural households is met by these two." Both are harder to sustain as forests shrink, and burning dung wastes manure.
Coal
Coal is India's "most abundantly available fossil fuel"; it is used for power generation, for industry and in homes, and India is highly dependent on it for commercial energy. Its types and ages are in Tables 4 and 5. One more NCERT line explains a whole industrial map: coal is "a bulky material, which loses weight on use as it is reduced to ash", so heavy industries and thermal power stations are located on or near the coalfields.
Coal today. All-India coal production was 1,047.523 million tonnes in 2024-25, up 4.98%; Coal India Ltd and its subsidiaries produced 781.056 million tonnes, and the Singareni Collieries Company Ltd, which the Ministry of Coal calls the "main source for supply of coal to the southern region", produced 69.01 million tonnes (Ministry of Coal, Production and supplies). Captive and commercial coal mines produced 210.46 million tonnes in 2025-26, 10.22% more than the 190.95 million tonnes of the year before (Ministry of Coal, 2 April 2026). The ministry's year-end review says coal contributes "more than 55%" of India's primary commercial energy and coal-fired plants about 72% of total power generation, and that India "holds the fifth-largest coal reserves in the world, with a total estimated coal resource of about 401 billion tonnes as of April 2025" (PIB, 12 January 2026). The rank is the ministry's own statement, and its sentence pairs a rank for reserves with a total for resources.
Petroleum
Petroleum is India's next major energy source after coal. It gives fuel for heat and lighting, lubricants for machinery and raw material for many industries; refineries are a "nodal industry" for synthetic textiles, fertilisers and chemicals. Most Indian oil occurs in anticlines and fault traps in rocks of the tertiary age. In an anticline, oil collects at the crest of the upfold in a porous layer of limestone or sandstone, held in place by non-porous layers above and below; in a fault trap it is held between porous and non-porous rocks. Gas, being lighter, usually lies above the oil.
The major producing areas are Mumbai High, Gujarat and Assam. "Ankeleshwar is the most important field of Gujarat. Assam is the oldest oil producing state of India", with the Digboi, Naharkatiya and Moran-Hugrijan fields.
Oldest State, oldest refinery, most important field. Three different claims are easy to blur. NCERT says Assam is the oldest oil-producing State. Indian Oil says its Digboi refinery, "in operation since 1901, is the oldest operating refinery in the world". NCERT calls Ankleshwar (NCERT spells it Ankeleshwar) the most important field of Gujarat, which is not the same as the oldest field in India.
Natural gas
Natural gas is found with petroleum and released when crude oil is brought up. It fuels power stations, heats industrial furnaces and is a raw material for chemical, petrochemical and fertiliser plants; with city gas distribution networks (NCERT prints "COD", a misprint for CGD), it is becoming a preferred transport fuel (CNG) and cooking fuel (PNG). India's main gas reserves are in Mumbai High and allied fields on the west coast, supplemented by the Cambay basin; on the east coast, new reserves have been found in the Krishna-Godavari basin.
The first cross-country pipeline, the 1,700 km Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur (HVJ) line built by GAIL (India), linked the Mumbai High and Bassein gas fields to fertiliser, power and industrial complexes in western and northern India. NCERT says the network has grown "over ten times from 1,700 km to 18,500 km" and "is expected to soon reach over 34,000 km as Gas Grid".
The gas grid by March 2024. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board's pipeline data for March 2024 show 33,478 km of natural gas pipelines authorised, 24,881 km operational and 10,404 km under construction. The operational network had already passed NCERT's 18,500 km, and the authorised network is roughly the size of NCERT's "34,000 km" Gas Grid.
Electricity
Electricity has so many uses that its per capita consumption "is considered as an index of development". It is generated in two main ways: hydro electricity, from fast-flowing water, a renewable resource (NCERT names the Bhakra Nangal, Damodar Valley Corporation and Kopili projects), and thermal electricity, from coal, petroleum and natural gas, which are non-renewable. "Once generated the electricity is exactly the same."
Why coal still dominates generation when it no longer dominates capacity. On 31 August 2026 coal and lignite were 41.62% of installed capacity, solar and wind 40.85% (Table 7, our arithmetic). But a coal plant can run around the clock, solar only in daylight and wind only when it blows, so a megawatt of coal yields far more electricity in a year. Hence coal-fired plants produce about 72% of India's power (Ministry of Coal) while non-fossil sources are more than half of capacity (CEA). Ask whether a question means capacity (MW) or generation (units).
Nuclear energy
Nuclear power comes from altering the structure of atoms. NCERT says uranium and thorium "are available in Jharkhand and the Aravalli ranges of Rajasthan", and "the Monazite sands of Kerala is also rich in Thorium".
Nuclear power in 2026. NPCIL runs 24 reactors with 8,780 MWe at seven sites (Table 8), which is 1.58% of India's installed capacity (CEA, 31 August 2026). On 6 April 2026 the 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam attained first criticality, the point at which a self-sustaining chain reaction begins; connection to the grid and commercial operation are later stages. The Department of Atomic Energy describes fast breeder technology as "the vital bridge between the current fleet of pressurized heavy water reactors and the future deployment of thorium-based reactors", the middle step of India's three-stage nuclear power programme, which is meant to use the country's thorium, including the monazite sands NCERT mentions.
Solar, wind, biogas, geothermal and tidal energy
NCERT gives three reasons for the push to non-conventional energy: dependence on fossil fuels, the rising prices and possible shortages of oil and gas that threaten energy security, and the environmental damage fossil fuels cause.
Solar energy. India is a tropical country with enormous solar potential. Photovoltaic technology turns sunlight directly into electricity. NCERT expects big solar plants to cut rural dependence on firewood and dung cake, which would help the environment and leave more manure for the fields.
Wind power. The largest wind farm cluster is in Tamil Nadu, from Nagarcoil to Madurai; Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra and Lakshadweep also have important wind farms; Nagarcoil and Jaisalmer are known for using wind energy well.
Biogas. Farm, animal and human waste yield biogas, with higher thermal efficiency than kerosene, dung cake and charcoal. Cattle-dung plants ("Gobar gas plants") give energy and better manure: "by far the most efficient use of cattle dung".
Geothermal energy uses the earth's internal heat. Where the geothermal gradient is high, groundwater turns to steam that can drive turbines. India has several hundred hot springs; NCERT names two experimental projects, in the Parvati valley near Manikaran (Himachal Pradesh) and in the Puga Valley (Ladakh).
Tidal energy. Floodgate dams across inlets trap water at high tide and release it through turbines as the tide falls. NCERT names the Gulf of Khambhat and the Gulf of Kuchchh in Gujarat, and the Gangetic delta in the Sunderban region of West Bengal, as ideal sites.
Renewables by the numbers. On 31 March 2026 India had 274.68 GW of renewable capacity: solar 150.26 GW, wind 56.09 GW, bio-power 11.75 GW, small hydro 5.17 GW and large hydro 51.41 GW (MNRE, PIB, 8 April 2026). Wind is concentrated in seven States (Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh), which together hold 99.64% of installed wind capacity; Rajasthan ranked first in renewable generation in 2025-26 with 69.12 billion units, 14.47% of the national total (MNRE, Renewable Energy Statistics 2025-26). A December 2014 study by the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, with CRISIL, cited by MNRE, put the theoretical potential of tidal and wave energy at 12,455 MW and 41,300 MW, an estimate, not installed capacity. MNRE also says India ranks third in the world in renewable capacity, citing IRENA's Renewable Energy Statistics 2026.
Conservation of energy
Energy consumption has risen steadily since Independence. NCERT names "promotion of energy conservation and increased use of renewable energy sources" as the twin planks of sustainable energy, and says India "is presently one of the least energy efficient countries in the world". Its examples are personal: use public transport, switch off electricity when not needed, use power-saving devices and non-conventional sources. "After all, 'energy saved is energy produced'."
India's climate targets for power. (1) India's updated Nationally Determined Contribution, approved by the Cabinet on 3 August 2022, commits to cut the emissions intensity of GDP by 45% by 2030 from the 2005 level and to reach "about 50 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030". India crossed 50% on 30 June 2025, with 242.78 GW of 484.82 GW (PIB, 14 July 2025). (2) The 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030 comes from the Prime Minister's announcement at COP26; MNRE is "working towards" it, but it is not in the NDC. (3) The NDC for 2031-35, approved on 25 March 2026, raises the targets to a 47% cut in emissions intensity by 2035 (2005 base), 60% non-fossil share of cumulative installed capacity by 2035, and a carbon sink of 3.5-4.0 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2035; the same release puts the non-fossil share at 52.57% in February 2026 (PIB 2245209).
What the pre-2023 edition said (removed in the rationalisation)
This chapter changed little. Three passages of the 2020-21 edition were replaced:
- State shares for 2016-17. The old charts for iron ore (Fig. 5.2), manganese (Fig. 5.4) and bauxite (Fig. 5.6) gave 2016-17 figures, and the text said "Odisha was the largest bauxite producing state in India in 2016-17". The 2026-27 reprint uses 2018-19 for all of these.
- CNG. The old edition said the "Use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for vehicles ... is gaining wide popularity". The reprint replaces it with the paragraph on city gas distribution, CNG and PNG.
- Gas pipelines. The figures for the network's growth from 1,700 km to 18,500 km and the 34,000 km Gas Grid are additions in the reprint.
Source: NCERT, Contemporary India II, Class X, ch. 5, 2020-21 edition (as archived by the Wayback Machine, 9 October 2021).
PART 3 — UPSC Integration
Cross-paper relevance
- GS1 (Geography) — distribution of minerals and energy resources (Tables 2-5); why heavy industry sits on coalfields; the geology behind the peninsular concentration of minerals.
- GS3 (Infrastructure: energy) — the power mix, capacity versus generation, renewable targets, nuclear power and energy security.
- GS3 (Economy and environment) — critical minerals, mining hazards, rat-hole mining, coal and climate commitments.
- GS2 (International institutions) — the International Seabed Authority and India's nodule contract.
- Essay — development versus environment, and the energy transition.
Past questions on this chapter's themes: Mains GS1 2013 (atomic raw materials; shale), 2017 (coal), 2020 (solar), 2021 (Gondwanaland and mining; mineral oil), 2022 (wind); GS3 2016 and 2022 (renewables), 2018 (nuclear); Prelims 2026 (rare earths and the National Critical Mineral Mission). Question IDs are in the Revision Capsule.
Frames for Mains Answers
1. "Why are India's minerals in the peninsula?" NCERT's geology (peninsular rocks for coal, metals and mica; sedimentary flanks for oil; alluvial plains almost devoid), the two coal ages and the Chota Nagpur cluster; then the consequence: heavy industry follows coal, which "loses weight on use".
2. "Is coal still inevitable?" Capacity against generation (non-fossil 54.88% of capacity, CEA August 2026; coal about 72% of generation, Ministry of Coal); NCERT's costs of mining; the NDC 2031-35 target of 60% non-fossil capacity by 2035. The question is the pace of the shift, not its direction.
3. "Why is wind (or solar) unevenly spread?" NCERT's sites (Nagarcoil-Madurai, Jaisalmer) and MNRE's data (seven States hold 99.64% of wind capacity; Rajasthan leads in renewable generation), explained by resource geography: wind along particular coasts, sunshine and open land in the arid west.
4. "Nuclear energy: facts and fears." Facts: 24 reactors, 8,780 MWe, 1.58% of capacity; PFBR criticality in April 2026; NCERT's uranium and thorium sources; the three-stage programme. Fears: safety, waste and cost.
Exam Strategy
Prelims fact-traps:
- Bauxite is a residual (weathering) deposit, not a sedimentary bed. Veins and lodes: tin, copper, zinc, lead. Placers: gold, silver, tin, platinum.
- Koderma: mica. Khetri and Balaghat: copper. Panchpatmali (Koraput): bauxite. Kudremukh: iron ore, a 100% export unit. Bailadila: hematite.
- Lignite: Neyveli. Tertiary coal: the north-east. Gondwana coal: the Damodar valley, metallurgical.
- Monazite sands: thorium. Geothermal projects: Manikaran (Parvati valley, Himachal Pradesh) and Puga (Ladakh).
- Nuclear is non-conventional in NCERT, non-fossil in CEA's table, and outside MNRE's renewable total.
- The ISA nodule contract covers the international seabed, not India's exclusive economic zone.
Practice Questions
Questions 1-4 are the NCERT exercise MCQs. Practice (UPSC-pattern, not past papers): questions 5-8.
1. Which one of the following minerals is formed by decomposition of rocks, leaving a residual mass of weathered material?
(a) coal
(b) bauxite
(c) gold
(d) zinc
Answer: (b). Bauxite forms when weathering removes the soluble parts of a rock.
2. Koderma, in Jharkhand is the leading producer of which one of the following minerals?
(a) bauxite
(b) mica
(c) iron ore
(d) copper
Answer: (b). The Koderma-Gaya-Hazaribagh belt is the leading mica producer.
3. Minerals are deposited and accumulated in the stratas of which of the following rocks?
(a) sedimentary rocks
(b) metamorphic rocks
(c) igneous rocks
(d) none of the above
Answer: (a). Coal, some iron ore, gypsum and salts form in beds of sedimentary rock.
4. Which one of the following minerals is contained in the Monazite sand?
(a) oil
(b) uranium
(c) thorium
(d) coal
Answer: (c). NCERT: the monazite sands of Kerala are rich in thorium.
5. Consider the following pairs: 1. Koderma : mica; 2. Khetri : bauxite; 3. Panchpatmali : bauxite; 4. Kudremukh : iron ore. Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 1, 3 and 4 only
(c) 2, 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2 and 4 only
Answer: (b). Khetri is a copper mine.
6. With reference to India's installed power capacity on 31 August 2026, consider the following statements: 1. Non-fossil sources made up more than half of the total. 2. Solar capacity was larger than coal capacity. 3. Nuclear power made up more than 5% of the total. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: (a). Non-fossil 54.88%; solar 1,68,040 MW against coal 2,24,408 MW; nuclear 1.58% (CEA).
7. India explores polymetallic nodules in the Central Indian Ocean Basin under:
(a) its rights in its exclusive economic zone
(b) a contract with the International Seabed Authority
(c) a licence from the International Maritime Organization
(d) a bilateral agreement with a coastal State
Answer: (b). The contract was signed in 2002 and extended to March 2027.
8. "Non-fossil sources are now more than half of India's installed power capacity, yet coal still produces most of its electricity." Explain this gap and what it means for India's energy transition. (250 words)
NCERT exercise (30 words): distinguish ferrous and non-ferrous minerals, and conventional and non-conventional sources of energy; what is a mineral; how are minerals formed in igneous and metamorphic rocks; why do we need to conserve mineral resources. NCERT exercise (120 words): describe the distribution of coal in India; why does solar energy have a bright future in India.
NCERT crossword (answers): Down: 1 gold, 2 hematite, 3 mica, 4 tertiary, 5 tin. Across: 1 manganese, 2 limestone, 3 magnetite, 4 anthracite, 5 bauxite, 6 copper, 7 gypsum.
📦 Revision Capsule
Hard Facts
- Mineral (geologists): "homogenous, naturally occurring substance with a definable internal structure"; over 2000 identified.
- Copper: Balaghat, Khetri, Singhbhum. Bauxite: Amarkantak, Maikal hills, Bilaspur-Katni; Panchpatmali (Koraput). Mica: Koderma-Gaya-Hazaribagh, Ajmer, Nellore.
- Coal: Gondwana (over 200 million years; Jharia, Raniganj, Bokaro) and tertiary (about 55 million years; Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal, Nagaland). Lignite: Neyveli.
- Oil: Mumbai High, Gujarat (Ankleshwar), Assam (Digboi, Naharkatiya, Moran-Hugrijan). Gas: Mumbai High, Cambay, Krishna-Godavari basin. HVJ: 1,700 km, GAIL.
- Tidal: Gulf of Khambhat, Gulf of Kuchchh, Sunderban.
Core Concepts
- A deposit becomes a mine only when concentration, ease of extraction and market access make it pay.
- Coal loses weight on use, so heavy industry and thermal power locate on or near coalfields.
- Capacity (MW) and generation (units) measure different things.
Confused Pairs
- Magnetite (highest iron, magnetic) vs hematite (most used).
- Ferrous (iron and steel minerals, including manganese) vs magnetic (a property of magnetite).
- Assam (oldest oil-producing State) vs Digboi (oldest operating refinery) vs Ankleshwar (Gujarat's most important field).
- Coal "reserves" (the Ministry of Coal's "fifth-largest" rank) vs coal "resource" (about 401 billion tonnes, April 2025): the ministry's one sentence uses both words.
- NDC 2022 ("about 50%" non-fossil capacity by 2030) vs COP26 announcement (500 GW by 2030) vs NDC 2031-35 (60% by 2035).
Data Points
- Coal output 2024-25: 1,047.523 Mt (+4.98%); captive and commercial mines 2025-26: 210.46 Mt.
- Coal: more than 55% of primary commercial energy; about 72% of power generation (Ministry of Coal, January 2026).
- Installed capacity, 31 August 2026: 5,54,544 MW; non-fossil 54.88%; solar 30.30%; coal 40.47%; nuclear 1.58% (CEA).
- Iron ore 2023-24: 277.332 Mt, Odisha 53.71%. Bauxite: Odisha about 73.4%.
- Gas pipelines, March 2024: 24,881 km operational, 33,478 km authorised (PNGRB).
- National Critical Mineral Mission: 2024-25 to 2030-31, ₹16,300 crore; 30 critical minerals listed in 2023.
PYQ Pattern
- Mains GS1: gs1-pyq-2021-07 (Gondwanaland and mining's share of GDP), gs1-pyq-2017-06 (coal mining inevitable), gs1-pyq-2013-24 (raw materials for atomic energy), gs1-pyq-2013-25 (shale oil and gas), gs1-pyq-2022-10 (wind potential, limited spatial spread), gs1-pyq-2020-16 (solar, regional variations), gs1-pyq-2021-16 (uneven distribution of mineral oil).
- Mains GS3: gs3-pyq-2016-51 (renewable status and targets, LED programme), gs3-pyq-2022-02 (50% from renewables by 2030), gs3-pyq-2018-16 (nuclear energy, facts and fears).
- Prelims: prelims-2026-gs1-060 (rare earth elements and the National Critical Mineral Mission).
Sources
- NCERT, Contemporary India II, Textbook in Geography for Class X, ch. 5 "Minerals and Energy Resources", Reprint 2026-27 — ncert.nic.in PDF.
- NCERT, Contemporary India II, ch. 5, 2020-21 edition (file jess105.pdf in the whole-book zip), as archived on 9 October 2021 — Wayback Machine.
- Indian Bureau of Mines, Indian Minerals Yearbook 2024 (data for 2023-24) — ibm.gov.in PDF.
- Ministry of Coal, Production and supplies — coal.nic.in; press release on captive and commercial coal production, 2 April 2026 — coal.nic.in PDF.
- Ministry of Coal, Year End Review 2025, 12 January 2026 — PIB 2213723.
- International Seabed Authority, Exploration contracts: polymetallic nodules — isa.org.jm.
- Cabinet approves the National Critical Mineral Mission, 29 January 2025 — PIB 2097308; PIB backgrounder "India's Critical Mineral Mission: Securing the Minerals of Tomorrow", 6 September 2025.
- Cabinet approves India's updated Nationally Determined Contribution, 3 August 2022 — PIB 1847813.
- Cabinet approves India's NDC for 2031-35, 25 March 2026 — PIB 2245209.
- Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, non-fossil capacity and India's renewable rank, 8 April 2026 — PIB 2250039; 50% non-fossil capacity reached, 14 July 2025 — PIB 2144627.
- Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Renewable Energy Statistics 2025-26 — mnre.gov.in PDF; New technologies (tidal and wave potential) — mnre.gov.in.
- Central Electricity Authority, All India Installed Capacity of Power Stations, 31 August 2026 — cea.nic.in PDF.
- Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd, Reactors in operation — npcil.nic.in.
- Department of Atomic Energy, Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam attains first criticality, 7 April 2026 — dae.gov.in.
- Indian Oil Corporation, Our distinctions — iocl.com PDF.
- Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board, Natural gas pipeline networks in India, March 2024 — pngrb.gov.in PDF.
